#3 - JRL 7139
Russian army more than halved since 1992 - Defense Ministry
MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - In the past eleven years, the general number of
Russian armed forces has been reduced by more than 50%.
"At the moment, the Russian army numbers 1.162 million people. In 1992,
this index was 2.88 million people. In other words, during the process of
optimizing the personnel structure, the army has been more than halved," Lt.
Gen. Vasily Smirnov, a senior official from the Russian General Staff, said
live on Echo Moskvy radio on Wednesday.
Over half of the Russian army is made up of drafted soldiers and
sergeants, he said.